


Fireball the Invincible

by AnUnhealthyDoseOfAngst, brightlycoloredteacups



Series: Brynhilda and the Trauma Doctor [1]
Category: Vikings - Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 09:02:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13407891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnUnhealthyDoseOfAngst/pseuds/AnUnhealthyDoseOfAngst, https://archiveofourown.org/users/brightlycoloredteacups/pseuds/brightlycoloredteacups
Summary: Brynhilda gets a new pet.





	Fireball the Invincible

The words ‘you need a pet’ has been knocking themselves around in Brynhilda’s mind for nearly a week now. Eliza has said it, Ylva has said it, and Ivar has said it. Something to take care of, something to occupy her on long, sleepless nights. She has to admit, getting an animal to share her living space sounds appealing. Animals should stick together, right?

           Of course, instead of doing the normal thing and going to a pet store to get a kitten, she decides she’s only going to buy the treats for the cats out in the alley a few blocks from her apartment. There are two of them, a black one and a white one. She’s stopped and fed them cans of tuna before, and scratched at their ears. She didn’t think they’d mind if she took them home, maybe got them shots.

           Feeling excited at the prospect of sharing a space with another living creature, she steps into the alley, shaking the bag and whistling for the animals. As usual, they come and greet her, silent, but happy. At least, she likes to think they’re happy. She crouches down, scratching their ears as they rub against her legs. Opening the bag, she puts a few treats out, wondering if it was a good idea to carry them home or lead them with the treats.

           They’re munching happily when a loud screech is heard. The cats rush off and before Brynhilda can react, something erupts from the trashcans in the back of the alley. She lets out a short yelp, falling over in surprise. Whatever it is, its stops in front of her, snorting and rooting around with it’s nose. It takes her a long while to realize she’s staring at a pig.

           She straightens out. “Gods, you’re an ugly thing.” She mutters. She scrunches her nose as something offensive invades her breathing space. “And smelly too.” She mutters. The pig looks at her, then nudges her foot. “More treats,” it seems to be saying. She reaches for the bag she dropped and places more treats on the ground. The pig sucks them up, grunting all the while.

           Brynhilda stands, looking around. She can’t see the cats anywhere. She figures she can come back tomorrow to get them. Pocketing the treats, she turns on her heel to return home. She’s stopped by an indignant sounding grunt. Looking back at the pig, it has one hoof in the air, ready to follow her. Does it dare? Brynhilda presses her lips together, she’s not going to adopt a pig, especially one as huge as this. Sensing her desire to leave, it slumps, putting its hoof down. Turning slowly, it trots back down the alley to it’s hiding spot. She’s not going to adopt a pig, she won’t, she can’t, she shouldn’t.

           Brynhilda looks up to the sky, groaning. Stepping back into the alley, she clicks to get the pig’s attention. “Come on Big Ugly,” She says. The pig turns, looking at her, questioning. “You want to come home with me, or stay in a nasty alley?” She asks. The pig let’s out another terrifying squeal and rushes to her side, curled tail wagging. She scrunches as another waft of dumpster-pig scent hits her. “You so need a bath.”

*

           Eliza stares at the monstrosity in Brynhilda’s kitchen. It’s laying on wet towels, looking rather pleased. Brynhilda herself is soaked with sweat and water, looking haggard. “What is that?” Eliza asks, not sure she really wants to know the answer. “This,” Brynhilda says, helplessly, “Is my new pet.”  The pig grunts. “He says ‘hello’.” Brynhilda helpfully translates. Eliza closes her eyes, trying to wrap her head around it. “You know, when I suggested you get a pet, I meant a cat, or a dog, maybe even a bird, but a pig?”

           Eliza opens her eyes and watches Brynhilda’s face screw up. “It followed me home.” She says. “Not it didn’t.” Eliza counters. “Ok. So, it didn’t follow me home, but it was left in the alley and it looked so sad there, living with the trash. Eliza, I couldn’t just leave it…him…her…” Brynhilda looks at the pig. “Are you a her?” It grunts, as if understanding Brynhilda is asking it a question. “It’s a him.” She says, with finality, looking back at Eliza, pleased. The doctor shakes her head and puts her bag of snacks on the counter. “What are you going to call…him?”

“Fireball,” Brynhilda says, reaching down to scratch his ears. “Fireball the Invincible.”

“Really?” Brynhilda shrugs. “He didn’t like Big Ugly, and Fireball sounds cool.” Eliza watches as Brynhilda’s face turns red. “And one of my favorite books had a pig named Snowball. But he met a bad end, and I don’t want to put that kind of pressure on him.”

“One of your favorite books is Animal Farm?” Brynhilda’s face turns an exceedingly red color. “I read,” She mutters. Eliza frowns. “Well, there aren’t any books in your apartment.” Eliza points out, feeling sort of guilty. Just because Brynhilda could be thuggish didn’t mean she wasn’t smart. “I check them out at the library,” She says. “Go there once a week.”

“I’ve known you for nearly six months now, why didn’t I know this?” Brynhilda shrugs again. “You never asked.” She says simply. Eliza grunts, fair point. Finally, overcoming her apprehension she steps up to the big pig. He grunts, looking at her, tail wagging. Squatting, Eliza begins to scratch at his ears. “Can I keep him?” Brynhilda whispers. Eliza looks up, wondering if her girlfriend is serious. “Why are you asking me? This is your apartment.”

“No, I mean, is it legal to keep a pig as a pet? I don’t have to take him to a farm, do I?”

“I’d take him to a vet at the very least. He might be someone else’s pet already. He might have a chip in him.”

“A chip?” Eliza nods. “A tracking chip, like they put in dogs and cats in case they get lost.” Brynhilda mutters a soft ‘oh’. “You’ll let me know what you find out, right?” Eliza asks, standing. “Yeah, of course,” Brynhilda mutters. “Good.” Eliza leans in and kisses Brynhilda on the cheek, pleased to see that, even after three months of dating, she still lights up with a goofy grin and a blush. “I’ll see you after work.”

“Yeah,” Brynhilda says. “After work.”


End file.
